Kiora from Tauranga, Aotearoa. Today, I will be doing a 10 km marathon. This is an annual event that I joined when I was living in Tauranga during COVID. Every year I do it with a sister, a friend and many other awesome people who come from all over New Zealand. It has been months of preparation and training. I don’t plan to win but I do plan to enjoy it. Running, walking or crawling to the finish line is much like life. We have to start somewhere and run a good race until the very end.

In the beginning, training was hard. With all the extra weight and being very unfit, it took a lot of time management and grit to just start walking, eating right and mentally preparing for this marathon. It gets easier with time as training just becomes part of your routine. You race against yourself but along with everyone else. Your only competition is yourself. Aiming to do better than your last training session.

Once you set your mind to the task, there is no excuse to not train every week. Even on hard days, you will still get up and go to the gym or field. You don’t need much motivation to do a marathon. You can start with a training plan. The key is simply ramping up your endurance, the amount of time you continuously walk or run for. It gets easier with time as your body and mind adjust to the challenges.

Make sure you start with the right shoes. You don’t necessarily need the most popular brands but definitely comfortable shoes you can walk or run miles in. It will save your feet a lot of pain and prevent injuries. On the day of the race, you also want to ensure you have proper socks, shirt, and shorts for running, in this case, long thermals or tights, it’s still winter here. Spring is not that far away.

Everyone starts a marathon training from different backgrounds and ability levels so there is no magic training plan or formula to follow. There is no one-size-fits-all blueprint. Having support helps and even if you don’t, you can still motivate yourself. So, I hope to still smile at the end of the marathon.

We see these words printed and hear them often at many funerals ‘ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ The next verse is just as important ‘ In the future there is reserved for me the victor’s crown of righteousness for being right with God and doing right, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that great day, and not to me only, but also all those who have loved and longed for and welcomes his appearing.

At the end of life, there is a reward waiting for us in heaven. There are moments along the race when you feel discomfort, fatigue and even think of giving up but you won’t. You will carry on. Once you get hooked on setting, training for and achieving your goals, you won’t dwell on that success for long. Soon, you will have your eye on the next goal. Such is life. We cannot depend on the successes of the past, we must keep learning, moving and developing. While we enjoy another peaceful Sunday Samoa, run the race, put on the right gear (attitude) and be thankful for support along the way.